John Carter [2012] (1 disc)

Random Trivia For This Title:

• The movie's lead couple, Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins, both starred in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Kitsch as Gambit and Collins as Kayla Silverfox.
• Although being based on the first book of the series, {A Princess of Mars}, the film was originally titled John Carter of Mars, but Andrew Stanton removed "of Mars" to make it more appealing to a broader audience, stating that the film is an "origin story. It's about a guy becoming John Carter of Mars." Stanton planned to keep "Mars" in the title for future films in the series.
• Jon Hamm and Josh Duhamel were considered for the role of John Carter.
• Tom Cruise was going to star as John Carter in the 1980s when John McTiernan was going to direct.
• John Carter is in top 20 ^[?] George Price's favourite movies.
• Andrew Stanton often sought advice from people he had worked with at Pixar on animated films (known as the Braintrust) instead of those with live-action experience working with him. also was quoted as saying, "I said to my producers, 'Is it just me, or do we actually know how to do this better than live-action crews do?'"
• Willem Dafoe accepted the role of Tars Tarkas because he thought it was interesting for him to act while wearing pajamas and walking on stilts.
• "{A Princess of Mars}" was originally published as "{Under the Moons of Mars}" by ^[?] Norman Bean (Edgar Rice Burroughs' pseudonym) in The All-Story (six pulp magazine issues February - July, 1912). Burroughs was originally afraid that he might be ridiculed for writing such a tale, so he decided to use a pen name. The pseudonym was supposed to be a pun "Normal Bean" (as in "I'm a normal being") to reassure people, but the man who typeset the text thought it was a mistake, so he changed it to "Norman". However, Burroughs' fears turned out to be unfounded: the story and its sequels, collectively known as the "Barsoom series", were almost as popular (and arguably more influential) as those of his most famous creation, Tarzan.
• The book was written in Utah and much of the film was shot in Utah, almost 100 years apart.
• The first "John Carter" story by Edgar Rice Burroughs made its debut in 1912 in a magazine serial. Thus, the 2012 feature film marks the centenary (100th anniversary) of the character's first appearance.
• In the arena John Carter is chained to a rock. The top of the spike that is in the rock is the shape of the D in the Disney logo.
• Andrew Stanton has already confessed that he isn't too satisfied with how the movie turned out. He confessed that part of the problems came from a first-time live action director being "drunk with power" after receiving too much money and creative control.
• Charlton Heston's real name was John Carter.
• The film's final budget was some $20 million more than James Cameron spent on Avatar(2009).
• While filming at Big Water in Utah, the crew accidentally discovered a 60 foot long sauropod skeleton. The state's land management bureau took over.
• For each of the super jumps that Taylor Kitsch performed, he was attached to a harness that allowed him to free-fall at a speed of 80 mph. Kitsch apparently found it unpleasant.
• The rights to the novels have since reverted back to the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate, which is still game to try to turn the books into a successful movie franchise.
• The film probably holds the record for the longest time in "development hell": 79 years. Preproduction first started in 1931, when ^[?] Robert Clampett, director of 'Looney Tunes', approached author Edgar Rice Burroughs to make an animated feature out of the first book in the series, "{A Princess of Mars}." Had plans gone through, 'John Carter' could have become America's first animated feature, beating Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). It finally left development hell in January 2010, when filming officially started in London.
• Robert Zemeckis turned down the chance to direct, quipping "George already pillaged all of that" with the "Star Wars" films. In other words, most of the best elements of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars fantasies had already been "borrowed" for George Lucas' space operas.
• Carter advises his nephew Ned to go and write a book at the end. Ned's full name is Edgar Rice Burroughs, the source novel's author.
• The inscription over Carter's crypt - "Inter Mundos" - is Latin for "Between Worlds". Appropriate, since Carter uses the crypt to cross over to Mars and travel between worlds.